Category Archives: Dealer News

We’ve Been Named a Top 2017 Dealer! Recently, Cargurus released their Top 2017 Dealers, and we are so pleased to be announced that we have been selected. These anuual CarGurus Top Rated Dealer awards are presented to a select group of car dealerships that have received the highest average ratings from shoppers who have submitted dealership reviews on the CarGurus platform. CarGurus utilizes shoppers’ dealership ratings as well as comprehensive valuation analytics to help shoppers search their local marketplace and find great car deals from top-rated dealers.

“We are thrilled to recognize Wilde Lexus as a Top Rated Dealer,” said Sam Zales, President of Dealer Operations. “Based on CarGurus’ shoppers’ ratings, it is clear that the team at Wilde Lexusis delivering a superior car shopping experience for their customers, and we applaud their high standards for excellence.”

“Our passion is providing our customers with a world-class ownership experience. We are proud to be rated in CarGurus Top 2017 Dealer.,” said Wilde Lexus Sarasota General Manager Wade Tucker, “Customer service is our number one priority. Our philosophy is simple: Operate with integrity and put the customer first. That said, we thank our dedicated staff and the amazing support of our loyal customers for this achievement.”

This month has been named Distracted Driving Awareness Month by the National Safety Council. So far this year, Florida crashes total almost 98,000 with almost 63,000 injuries reported. In Sarasota alone, there have been 1,867 crashes and 1,146 injuries. Nationally in 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. As the statistics show, distracted driving is a major issue and we urge everyone to make the important decision to pay attention when they are driving. According to the United States government, distracted driving is considered any of the following activities:

Texting

Using a cell phone or smartphone

Eating and drinking

Talking to passengers

Grooming

Reading, including maps

Using a navigation system

Watching a video

Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player

Or anything else that distracts from the priority of operating a motor vehicle

Generally its considered safe to avert your eyes from the road for 3 seconds in order to adjust the radio, however most text messages take an average of 5 seconds of the reader’s time. The National Safety Council advises to send and read text messages before you start driving, decide where you want to go before you put the car in “drive” and enter it into the GPS if necessary, and pull off to the side of the road if you need to take a call. Hands free and new infotainment systems are helpful, but ultimately still a major distraction. Try your hardest to leave your commute time to commuting alone. Allow this to be the time that you reflect on your day or simply enjoy the open road with some great tunes. Join in on the conversation on social media using the hashtag “#takebackyourdrive’ or visit nsc.org and pledge to be a more attentive driver.

Don’t forget to change your clock for Daylight’s Saving Time! The time officially changes on Sunday March 12 at 2 am! We are springing forward and moving our clocks ahead by one hour. You can refer to your owner’s manual for how to change your clock and YouTube has video tutorials based on your make and model. Our technicians are here for you if you need help changing you clocks! Please call ahead of time.

We’ve Won National Lexus Dealer for 2017! Dealerrater recently announced their 2017 Dealer of the Year awards at NADA. The awards are determined by an algorithm referred to as PowerScore, which is determined by a dealership’s average Dealerrater star-rating as well as the total number of reviews written about the dealership during the 2016 calendar year and are divided into the following categories: customer service, quality of work, friendliness, pricing, and overall experience. In order to qualify for the awards, new and used dealers must have been reviewed 25 times during 2016 and averaged a minimum of a four out of five-star rating. We are also privileged to win Lexus Dealership for Florida and the 2017 Consumer Satisfaction award.

“Our DealerRater Dealer of the Year Award winners should be proud of this important distinction, which makes it clear to car buyers that their dealership is highly regarded for its customer experience,” said Gary Tucker, CEO of DealerRater. “Customer experience is where today’s deals are won and lost, and DealerRater makes it easy for shoppers to find the experience they are looking for while connecting with the right person at the right dealership.”

Thank you to everyone who reviewed us this year! If you’d like to share your #WildeStory please review us here. For more Wilde Lexus news, Follow us on Twitter or Like us on Facebook.

Join us at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Tennis Tournament from November 4-6 at the Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. This Division I NCAA College Fall Tournament will be a Men’s and Women’s singles and doubles, 32 singles draw and 16 team double draw. Multiple conferences, including the SEC, ACC, BIG 10 and PAC 10, will be represented with the tournament counting towards each player’s individual National Ranking. A portion of all the proceeds will benefit the V Foundation, a foundation that focuses on raising money for Cancer research. We will have a few cars on display for your viewing and admission is free! We hope to see you there!

We’re excited to announce we are replacing our car wash so that we can better serve YOU! Unfortunately, the car wash will be closed for one week from September 26th- October 2nd. We will re-open, new and improved, on Monday October 3rd. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to serving you then!

This week is Child Passenger Safety week. Did you know that Motor Vehicle Crashes are the leading cause of unintentional deaths among children aged 1-19? In 2014 alone, 451 children aged 8 and under died due to a motor vehicle crash making up 15% of childhood motor vehicle fatalities. Sadly 116 of these children were not restrained by an age-appropriate device such as an infant car seat, booster seat or seat belt. Child Passenger Safety is an important topic and we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight Florida laws regarding child passengers and to urge you to take the safety of your child passengers into consideration each time you are driving in your Wilde Car.

According to the Florida DMV, children 5 years old or younger must be secured in a federally approved child restraint system– specifically, children 3 or younger must use a separate car-seat or the vehicle’s built in child seat while children 4 through 5 years must sit in either a separate car seat, a built in child seat or a seat belt, depending on the child’s height and weight. Children 6-17 must wear a seatbelt. Failure to comply with these laws could result in a fine up to $60 and 3 points against your driver’s license.

Rear-Facing Car Seat:

Children under age 1 should always ride in rear-facing car seats. You should try to keep your child in rear-facing carseats until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer. Convertible and All-In-One car seats typically have higher height and weight limits and allow your child to stay rear-facing longer. Once your child outgrows rear-facing they are ready for a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether.

Forward-Facing Car Seat:

Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it’s time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat.

Booster Seat:

You should keep your child in a booster seat until they are big enough for a seat belt to fit properly, which means the lap belt lies snugly across the upper thighs (not stomach) and the shoulder belt should lie snugly across the shoulder and chest (not the neck or face). Once your child outgrows a booster seat, your child is finally ready for a seatbelt.

Seat Belt:

Even though your child has outgrown the booster seat, safety is still very important. The back seat is the safest place for your child and you should have them sit in the back until they are at least 12 years old. Never start the car without making sure your children are buckled up! Teaching them this habit young will help keep them safe when as passengers and future drivers.

Labor day is a holiday for the American worker! According to the Department of Labor, Labor Day “is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” We are excited to stay open for Labor Day and offer you–The American Worker– a chance to take advantage of our amazing deals!

We are so pleased to announce our new sister store and neighbor, Wilde Land Rover Sarasota! Mark Wilde, President of Wilde Automotive, welcomed the new dealership saying, “We are very excited to welcome the high quality and luxury performance SUVs of Land Rover to our Sarasota automotive family. We are looking forward to supporting Land Rover customers in our community with all of their sales, service, parts, financing and body shop needs.”

Wilde Land Rover Sarasota has been chosen as the area’s exclusive, factory authorized Land Rover dealer and will join Wilde Jaguar and Wilde Maserati at 4821 Clark Road. “The Land Rover brand parallels the values of the Wilde brand,” says Mr. Wilde, “Land Rover is known throughout the world for the high quality of its vehicles. This level of excellence has been attained by constantly monitoring clients’ expectations. Likewise, Wilde’s passion is providing a world-class ownership experience that keeps our customers coming back.”

For more information about the Land Rover line up, which includes luxury SUVs, including the Range Rover, Sport, Evoque, LR4 and Discovery Sport, please visit the website wildelandrover.com.

We know that technology keeps changing, especially in the automotive realm. With that in mind, we’ve created our Breakfast Club, an informative tech clinic designed to help you with any questions you may have about your Lexus Bluetooth and Navigation systems. The class lasts about one hour and 15 minutes and begins at 9:30 am. You can come as often as you need. This month’s Breakfast Club is being moved back one week this month due to tax day! Instead of April 15th, breakfast club will be on April 22nd. Space is limited, so please RSVP by clicking “RSVP” or call 941-924-3040.

We encourage you to preview the Quick Guide Videos on our website and use your vehicle’s systems before attending the clinic. By doing so, you can have a list of personalized questions for your instructor.